Tuesday, March 25, 2014

In this hilarious trip
down Shakespeare Lane, Dr. Patricia Cataldo is a psychotherapist with a celebrity
clientele of romantically involved couples from Shakespearean plays. Having directed
Will’s plays for years in New York, I was curious to see the results if all his
beleaguered heroes and heroines had only gone for therapy. There’s Desdemona trying
to find support against her husband Othello’s jealous rages; there’s Hamlet’s
existential problems (but are they all in his head?) that Ophelia mistakes for
bi-polarism; there’s Kate and Petruchio hammering it out as their prelude to
great sex, and there’s teenagers Romeo and Juliet, with raging hormones, trying
to deal with hostile parents.

What they all have in
common is a healthy lust for each other – except maybe Lady M whose lust is
directed more toward her glee in murdering people than embracing her hen-pecked
husband, Macbeth. More than just spoofing Shakespeare, here’s a wild send-up of
psycho-analysis, since the psychotherapist herself, who’s not quite together,
has the amazing knack of suggesting cures for their ills that quite frankly
exacerbates problems. So don’t blame Shakespeare for how these tragedies turned
out, blame ditzy Dr. Cataldo.

The Monty Python Really-Funny-Award to writer Lloyd J. Schwartz, and the Marx Brothers Zany-Prize to director
Ted Lange. This World Premiere comedy is a No Great Shakes Production with fine
set design by Marco De Leon, clever lighting by Maarten Cornelis, and fabulous
costumes by Michele Young. Photos by Dina Morrone.

Friday, March 21, 2014

The heartbreak of being
true to yourself, while hurting those who love you, is the theme of this deeply
moving play, sensitively adapted by Aaron Posner from Chaim
Potok’s 1972 novel. Asher is an artist who cannot make pretty pictures to
please his family, but must express the pain and rage he feels. They are Hasidic
Jews in 1950’s Brooklyn, and are confounded by their sons need to express his
life through drawing and painting. His father views the work as pornographic
and sacrilegious, while his dutiful mother is secretly admiring of her only son’s
gift.

Asher observes the
suffering his mother has to bear, imprisoned by a strict and unforgiving
culture, especially as she struggles to keep peace between the warring men in
her life. Ironically, this leads to Asher’s masterpiece, Brooklyn Crucifixion, a painting of his mother that brings him
international recognition.

As Asher’s famous artist mentor says, “Be a great painter, Asher Lev. It is the
only justification for all the pain you are about to cause.” The moment
when his parents step up and view this work, that seems to mock their very
existence, shows the lifelong battle between truth and tradition.

Stephen Sachsdirects with a simplicity that underscores depths
of emotion. Heading the brilliant cast, Jason Karasev, as Asher,bravely
journeys into an unknown world. Anna Khaja portrays his fragile mother,
then reappears as a shrewdand dynamic art dealer. Best of all is Joel
Polis as his rigid father, who persuasively transformsinto a genial uncle, to an
autocratic rabbi, and even Asher’s bohemian non-religious mentor.

Drama
Alert! This month, four-time Academy
Award nominee Annette Bening will recreate a Ruth Draper performance, including
the hilarious pieces The Italian Lesson, A Debutante at a Dance
and A Class in Greek Poise. As there are only rare audio tapes of the
legendary Draper in performance, this is a chance to see why she was awarded a CBE (Commander of the British Empire) in 1951 by King George VI (Father
of the present Queen),inspired
characters in Agatha Christie's works, and influenced Lily Tomlin, John
Lithgow, Emma Thompson and others.

Draper was an Americanactress who specialized in
character-driven monologues in
solo performances called Monodramas. She had the uncanny
ability, while alone on stage, to shift between characters and fill the stage
with vivid imaginary people. With a chair, a shawl, some hats and an occasional
table as her only props, Draper dazzled audiences worldwide for nearly forty
years.

The show is directed byBening herself, who states,"I am in awe of Ruth Draper… and I look
forward to the formidable challenge of breathing life into these stunning
pieces."

At the Geffen Playhouse,10886 Le Conte Avenue, LA, April 8 to May 18. Tickets: (310) 208-5454 or www.geffenplayhouse.com.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

In playwright Wendy Graf’s
deeply moving and challenging new play, two sisters meet across today’s great
cultural divide and discover each other as family. Julia is a high-achieving African-American
attorney in New York with a hot boyfriend and a great job. When her father
tells her she has a Muslim half-sister she wants no part of it. Then Neyla, who
has fled Iraq, turns up looking for sanctuary and, in trying to be tolerant and
kind, Julia’s well balanced life implodes.

Not only family secrets shatter her
composure but her own (and our) racial and religious certainties start to crumble
under sudden fierce scrutiny. In music, “closely
related keys” means “to share many common tones” and Graf
uses this metaphor to illuminate how our differences, personal and political, are minor compared to our
commonality.

Diarra Kilpatrick as Julia
is a spitfire hiding her vulnerability under a cynical demeanor; Yvonne Huff as
Neyla is a gentle gal who erupts in anger at the callousness of the American
culture; Ted Mattison as Ron is a robust lover brought up short by the paradox
of racial difference; Brent Jennings as Mr. Charlie, Julia’s caring father, is
torn between his two battling daughters, and Adam Meir as Tariq is a hunted man
betrayed by those he helped win a war.

Shirley Jo Finney directs her
well-chosen cast brilliantly. Expressive Hi-Tech NY set is by Hana Kim, with lighting
by Donny Jackson, original music and sound by Peter Bayne, and costumes by
Naila Aladdin Sanders. Producer is Racquel Lehrman of Theatre Planners.

About Me

Born in UK, started in theater as actress on Broadway then playwright/director in UK & the USA, Broadway Critic for The Hollywood Reporter in the 1980s. Artistic director at theatres in NY and Hollywood. Wrote musicals with ASCAP composer-lyricist husband, Ralph Martell, all produced in NY & California. For 10 years directed outdoor Shakespeare in Manhattan through NY Dept Cultural Affairs. Play HARRIET TUBMAN HERSELF starring Christine Dixon, now in its 9th year. Contest winner for plays in Okla, W, Virginia & Texas. Books CLASSICS 4 KIDS and SHAKESPEARE IN AN HOUR published by Shakespeare, Inc. AWARDS: National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) playwriting grant; 5 grants for children's musicals and 8 NY/DCA for Shakespeare productions. Member DGA, AEA & LA Press Club. Lectures on "The Impact of Yiddish Theatre on American Theatre." Co-founder NY Women in Film & TV. Monthly theater column in NOT BORN YESTERDAY California senior paper. Email: dramatist2006@yahoo.com